The present invention relates to an IC (integrated circuit) socket for mounting on printed circuit boards, low-power consuming ICs or LSIs such as CMOS memories, CMOS CPUs, or CMOS LSIs which require battery backup.
In an LSI memory of a microcomputer storing a program or data, a timer, a CPU or the like, the memory contents are lost or the operation is terminated upon turning off the power supply. Consequently, the operation cannot be continued after the power supply is resumed. In a device including a memory LSI, in order to prevent accidental loss of memory contents upon turning off the power supply, a backup battery is generally included so as to back up the power supply of the memory LSI.
In a device which is experimentally prepared or which is undergoing testing, demands frequently arise for removing a printed circuit board from a socket connected to a power supply or for removing an IC or an LSI from a socket mounted on a printed circuit board so as to replace the removed IC or LSI with a different IC or LSI. In this case, supply of (backup) power to the removed IC or LSI presents a problem. As one solution to this problem, it has been proposed to arrange a backup battery on a printed circuit board so as to allow free replacement of ICs or LSIs on the printed circuit board without a consequent termination of their functions. However, if only selected ICs or LSIs are to be selectively replaced, the power supply is disconnected, again resulting in power backup difficulty.